Travel Guide Tanuf

The village of Tanuf was destroyed in 1959 during a British Royal Air Force bombing during the Gebel Akhdar war between Muscat and the Omanis in the interior. A few old houses nevertheless resisted the attackers and stand proudly on the mountainside. From the main road in the direction of Bahla and before the junction to Tanuf, the view of the terraced hamlet is charming and makes a nice picture. Don't hesitate to go for a walk in the heart of the old village, between the ruins of the houses, most of which are more than 300 years old. The falaj, whose layout is still the original one, was built against the cliff, at a height of up to ten meters.Tanuf is also known for its eponymous brand of mineral water (bottling plant on site). It comes from the nearby wadi that winds its way through the Gebel Shams mountains and can only be reached by all-terrain vehicle. The deep canyon is impressive and framed by cliffs that can reach up to a thousand meters high! You first pass a dam before going down a dirt track in the heart of the gash for about 4 km, up to the village of Al Far from which several hiking trails start. In the nearby surroundings there are also many of the largest caves in the world. The Al Hoota cave, a few kilometres from Tanuf, is an unusual and interesting curiosity on the route of forts, villages and mountain oases.